Photo by Twumasi Duah-Mensah
Story by Twumasi Duah-Mensah
Kelly McChesney and her three-year-old son, Condé, live on McCauley Street in Chapel Hill — about 500 feet from UNC’s power plant.
KELLY MCCHESNEY: OUR SON WAS EXTREMELY ANEMIC FROM THE DAY HE WAS BORN. I HAD PLACENTA PREVIA, WHICH IS ALSO KIND OF, THEY’RE STARTING TO SEE IN SOME STUDIES THAT IT OCCURS MORE IF YOU’RE AROUND COAL EMISSIONS, YOU KNOW, THROUGH A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME OF THEIR CONCEPTION AND BIRTH.
The Division of Air Quality, or DAQ, is deciding whether to grant UNC a permit to burn the fuel pellets. Yet McChesney spoke out against that plan at a DAQ hearing after looking into what emissions come from burning the pellets.
MCCHESNEY: SEEING THAT THERE’S PLASTIC AND P-FAS, THERE’S AN INCREASED LEVEL OF CARBON MONOXIDE, LEAD, LEAD. OUR SON HAD LEAD EXPOSURE AT A YOUNGER AGE, ESPECIALLY WITH ANEMIA.
MCCHESNEY: SO I START THINKING, OKAY, WELL, IS IT REALLY BETTER?
Melissa McCullough a retired EPA scientist and Chapel Hill town council member, said the pellets UNC plans to burn can contain anywhere from fifteen to forty-nine percent plastic, so it’s impossible to know how much PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals” will be in each batch.
MELISSA MCCULLOUGH: WHEN YOU HAVE A CHEMICAL THAT DOES NOT BREAK DOWN IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME, THERE’S NO TELLING WHERE IT GOES, AND IT ACCUMULATES. AND IT CAN ACCUMULATE IN THE ENVIRONMENT. ITRIM
UNC estimates burning the pellets will emit only a small amount of PFAS per year. But Perrin de Jong, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said UNC has gotten its estimates wrong in the past, but DAQ has approved the permits based on the university’s information.
PERRIN DE JONG: NO MATTER HOW MANY FLAWS WE UNCOVERED IN THE PERMIT AND IN THE APPLICATION, DAQ GAVE UNC WHAT IT WANTED AT EVERY TURN. UNC Media Relations said the university has yet to start its testing phase, so it had no information to share beyond what’s in the application.
McChesney said what angers her most is why UNC hasn’t engaged the public to get its input outside of the DAQ hearing.
MCCHESNEY: IF IT IS BETTER, WHY AREN’T WE GETTING PRESENTATIONS? WHY AREN’T WE GETTING DATA?
MCCHESNEY: THERE’S A WAY TO PARTICIPATE WITH PEOPLE TO KIND OF GET THEIR INVOLVEMENT AND TRUST, RATHER THAN JUST MAKE A DECISION THAT’S GOING TO AFFECT EVERYBODY’S HEALTH.
The public comment period has passed. The DAQ will consider public comments before coming to a final decision. I’m Twumasi Duah-Mensah, reporting.
